Stephanie Beckman, Lisa Beane, Liz Kramer and Anne Rasmusson are the four candidates recommended for consideration to fill two upcoming vacancies on the Minnesota Court of Appeals, according to a news release from the office of Gov. Tim Walz and Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan.
The vacancies will occur upon the retirement of Judges Louise Dovre Bjorkman and Randall J. Slieter. One vacancy is currently at large while the other seat is designated for Minnesota’s 7th Congressional District.
Earlier this year, a merit selection panel consisting of members of Walz’s administration and at-large members of the Commission on Judicial Selection took applications from candidates and recommended the four finalists. The panel announced its decision Thursday.
The news release provides the following biographical information about the four candidates:
Beckman is currently chief judge of Minnesota’s Eighth Judicial District. Her seat is chambered in Meeker County.
Beckman was previously the Meeker County Attorney and an assistant county attorney in Stearns County. During her time on the bench, Beckman helped start a district-wide treatment court, assisted with starting a child protection specialty court and a district-wide housing court. She serves as a board member on the Board on Judicial Standards and the Minnesota Rules of Evidence Advisory Committee to the Minnesota Supreme Court.
Beckman’s community involvement includes being a board member for the Litchfield Area Mentorship Program and the Meeker County Law Library.
Beane is a senior associate general counsel at the University of Minnesota’s Office of General Counsel. She was also previously an associate at the Minneapolis office of Jones Day and at Robbins Kaplan LLP. She was also a law clerk to Judge Wilhelmina M. Wright at the U.S. District Court for the District Court of Minnesota and at the Minnesota Supreme Court.
Beane serves as a member of the Minnesota Supreme Court Advisory Committee on the Rules of Civil Appellate Procedure and is also on the board of directors for the Minnesota Lavender Bar Association.
Kramer currently serves as solicitor general for Minnesota, defending the constitutionality of state laws and representing Minnesota in state and federal appellate courts. Kramer was previously a partner at Stinson LLP, where she practiced complex commercial litigation. She was previously a law clerk to Judge Helen M. Meyer on the Minnesota Supreme Court.
Kramer’s community involvement includes sitting on the boards of the Minnesota State Fair Foundation and the Minnesota Supreme Court Historical Society.
Rasmusson is assistant chief judge of Minnesota’s Ninth Judicial District. Her seat is chambered in Polk County.
During her time as judge she established and served on the White Earth/Mahomen DWI and Drug Courts and the DWI Courts for Polk, Red Lake, and Norman Counties. She was previously a partner at Rust, Stock and Rasmusson P.A.
Rasmusson is also chair of the Minnesota Supreme Court Advisory Committee on the General Rules of Practice, chairs the Ninth Judicial District Case Flow Committee and is a member of the Children’s Justice Initiative Committee.
Rasmusson has also chaired the RiverView Healthcare Association Board of Directors and the Polk County Developmental Achievement Center.
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